Adobe Encore DVD In The Studio

By Dale Farris, Vice President
Golden Triangle PC Club
October 2004

General Overview

If you're looking for a stimulating way to master the software program Adobe Encore DVD and fine-tune your moviemaking skills, look no further than "Adobe Encore DVD: In the Studio." Designed for Adobe Creative Suite developers and filmmakers, the book combines practical learning materials and project-based lessons.

"Adobe Encore DVD: In the Studio" is not your average tutorial. The book draws on the experience of author Doug Dixon -- an expert on Adobe Encore DVD, the author of other books on DVD development, and a core member of the product's alpha and beta programs. Well-versed in both the use and design of Adobe Encore DVD, Dixon imbues this O'Reilly Media digital book with the unique perspective of an insider who really knows his pixels.

"Adobe Encore DVD: In the Studio" discusses the protocols involved with DVD files and file systems; pixel aspect ratio issues; common gotchas using both still and motion media; and a plethora of tips and tricks to using dynamic buttons. You'll get up to speed on importing from Photoshop and AfterEffects, making motion video menus available, and looping video and audio. You'll also learn about adding multilingual menus and subtitles, encoding rules, scripting, and even placing Easter eggs in a DVD!

By studying this comprehensive, hands-on tutorial, you will be able to quickly and efficiently develop professional-looking DVDs studded with special effects worthy of a Hollywood studio.

This book is based on Adobe's program Encore DVD, v. 1.5, released in May 2004, and also available as part of the Adobe Video Collection v. 2.5. If you have an older version of Encore, do no hesitate any further. The new version provides significant workflow enhancements and even stronger integration with the other Adobe tools.

The book is part of O'Reilly's "Digital Studio" series of titles, a new set of books that are geared toward taking novices, whatever their area of digital expertise may be, and turning them into subject-matter experts. At O'Reilly, they strive to raise the bar with this series, offering readers a tremendous amount of value for your money, but also relieves your "information pain."

The Adobe Encore DVD program is a professional DVD authoring tool that combines the depth of professional authoring for complex projects with the ease of drag-and-drop operation for simple jobs. If you are just getting started with DVDs or have a quick disc to create, you can simply drag your clips onto menus and Encore will do all the work of creating links, inserting video thumbnails for the menu buttons, and converting the clips to DVD formats to burn to disc. As you grow into more serious work, Encore provides precise control over menu design, navigational linking, and video compression, combined with project management and version control tools.

Special Features

This book will show you how to:

Master the Encore user interface

Understand the myriad of DVD formats and features

Explore commercial DVDs with software DVD players

Understand how to prepare and import assets for DVD authoring

Organize your project with folders and assets

Use the Adobe Encore DVD Library and Styles to simplify authoring

Work effectively with timelines, audio, and subtitles

Design and create effective menus within Adobe Encore DVD

Integrate effectively with Adobe Photoshop CS for professional menus

Choose the best transcoding methods for your video and audio clips

Design great DVDs, with features such as Easter eggs and alternate menus

Table of Contents

The nine (9) chapters include the following:

1) Introducing Adobe Encore
2) Deconstructing DVDs
3) Assets and Projects
4) Timelines
5) Encore Menu Design
6) Working with Photoshop and Other Applications
7) Links and DVD Navigation
8) Transcoding and Building Discs
9) Designing Great DVDs

Target Readers

This book is for people who want to make interesting DVD productions, whether they are consumers stepping up from an entry-level DVD authoring tool, or professionals moving into DVD from other Adobe digital media tools. You will find the process of using Encore more familiar if you have some experience with playing and exploring (if not authoring) DVDs, and video editing using a tool such as Adobe Premier Pro. Experience with Adobe Photoshop is also helpful, but not required.

The author's goal is to get you started quickly creating useful DVDs, and then give you the tools and options for digging down to customize more advanced designs. The books moves logically through the workflow of creating a DVD, introducing the associated Encore tools, and providing tips and alternatives for more advance authoring. In this way, you can find your own approaches to using Encore for the kinds of projects that you want to create.

Besides providing the step-by-step workflow for using Encore, the book also serves as a reference to the major screens and dialogs, with annotated screenshots and associated explanation of the Encore interface elements.

Book Contents

336 pages; preface; acknowledgments; tons of full-color figures and screen-shots; numerous studio advice tips; index; cover colophon

Author

Douglas Dixon

About the Author

Doug Dixon has written two titles already on DVD development, and is well known in the Adobe Encore DVD world. He is also part of the product alpha and beta program, and he understands both the design and the drawbacks of the application. He also is an independent technologist and author specializing in digital media.

His Manifest Technology web site (www.manifest-tech.com) provides free articles and technical references to help make sense of multimedia technology.

ISBN

September 2004 - First Edition
0-596-00600-4

List Price

$39.95
$57.95 (CAN)

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Publisher Contact

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